Summer of the Monkeys — Chapter 18

About This Passage

Rawls gives this quiet, simple sentence to hold the whole chapter's reward. The little words 'no limp at all' are the smallest words in the chapter and they carry the biggest meaning — Daisy, who has been crippled her whole life, now walks like every other child. Rawls lets the change speak through the feet: 'came down the steps,' 'set her suitcase down,' 'piled the bundles.' All of these are things a healed leg can do. The joy is hidden inside ordinary actions, which is the most Rawls way of telling good news.

Narration Prompt

Tell the story of Chapter 18 in four parts. First, tell how Mama and Daisy went away on the train to the big city hospital and how Jay Berry and Papa tried to take care of the house by themselves (and how Jay Berry burned the beans and boiled over the potatoes). Second, tell how six long, lonely weeks passed, and how Jay Berry went up to Daisy's playhouse and prayed to the Old Man of the Mountains to send his family home. Third, tell how Grandpa came driving up the very next day with a letter saying Mama and Daisy were coming home on the noon train. Fourth, tell how Daisy stepped off the train with no limp at all, hugged Jay Berry tight, and whispered, 'I won't ever forget what you did for me.'

Discussion Questions

1. What in the story tells you that Papa was feeling just as lonely and sad as Jay Berry was while Mama and Daisy were gone?
2. What in the story tells you that Daisy loves Jay Berry even more after he gave up the pony than she did before?

+ 2 more questions in the complete study guide